Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray do a convincing job of abstracting rockabilly on Heavy Trash's new full-length Midnight Soul Serenade, but their distance from the material can be disconcerting. Back in the '90s, Spencer added dissonance and squall to blues—crudity was part of the package. Midnight Soul, by comparison, is a bit more verbal, and its horrible guitar noises and strange drum parts are somewhat more integral to the message, such as it is. "Gee, I Really Love You" refers to its disembodied female subject as "docile like a little child," while the background vocals and obligatory recitations are deadpan and funny. Those Darlins add some appropriately sexy noises to "Good Man," the record's breeziest track. When the experiment works, as on the amazing "Bedevilment," Midnight Soul takes insincerity to giddy new heights. The imitation surf instrumental and the spoken-word piece are nods to the time-honored trash aesthetic.
Wed., Nov. 18, 9 p.m., 2009
Wed., Nov. 18, 9 p.m., 2009
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